The Val'kyr - Part One

Sometimes I think we, as Forsaken roleplayers, don't know how lucky we are. We got so much to work with when Wrath of the Lich King came out: The Forsaken finally marched against the one responsible for the hideous twist of fate that bound them all together - the Lich King. This was something that reverberated with every Forsaken character, as they had to consider not only having an active role in the fight against the Lich King, when he was still alive, but also what was next for them once he was defeated; especially since many of them had sworn vengeance on him the moment they broke free of his control and would now be looking for a new purpose.

There was also the Wrathgate cinematic (and for that matter the entire Wrathgate event) where characters who were first introduced in the Warcraft RTS games, or at the end of the Burning Crusade, turned traitor and took over the Undercity. And then we got to fight to take it back! There were lasting consequences that came with these events, not only in terms of the treatment of the Foresaken in the Horde but also in terms of permanent changes to the game world (in the form of different guards, but still). We also got to test our final strain of the plague, which was now far more evolved than those little green vials the Apothecary quest givers in Tarren Mill gave us to kill Murlocs with. In all, the face of Forsaken relations with the rest of the Horde was forever changed. And in turn, the Horde relations with the Alliance.

If you ever feel there haven't been a lot of cannon story and changes for the Forsaken to work with in our roleplay, just turn your head and look over over the faction-fence at the Alliance, namely at the Draenei. The Draenei haven't done much since landing in Burning Crusade, and  I can count the quests they've been given since then that offer more lore and insight into their race on one hand. Forsaken roleplayers are fortunate in that we've had our lore and development sprinkled into the game at a gradual pace, rather than just crammed into an entire expansion pack and left alone afterwards.

And now with Cataclysm we've gotten even more to work with. If Wrath of the Lich King didn't make you want to blow a gentle kiss to the wind in the hopes it would grace the cheeks of one of the writers for Blizzard, then Cataclysm surely did. Brill, Silverpine and Hillsbrad are rich with quests and inspiration for us now, and the Forsaken finally figured out how to “reproduce”. For those of you who didn't know, the Royal Apothecary was formed with the intention of recreating the plague of undeath that made the Forsaken originally. We saw them succeed in making a powerful plague that could kill both the Scourge and the living in Northrend, but it fell short of making new Forsaken afterwards. That was a concern for the Forsaken, because they didn't have a means to reproduce yet; Sylvanas rightfully feared that they would eventually go extinct.

That's why the Val'kyr serving Sylvanas in Cataclysm are such an important part the Forsaken story. In her own words, Sylvanas said the addition of the Val'kyr has "solved the plight of the Forsaken." Now, I try in my posts not just to regurgitate lore at you guys, but I do want to talk a little about what the Val'kyr are and where they've come from, before I get into how they can come into our roleplay and what our characters could think of them.

If your character was a veteran of the Northrend campaign, they may have fought against the Val'kyr, or the Vurkl women chosen by the Lich King to become them, in Icecrown. (More specifically, in the village of Valkyrion.) We saw them captured by the Argent Crusade so heroes could fight them in Trial of the Crusader, they were even on display outside of the coliseum so our characters could ogle them. A Death Knight may have seen Val'kyr Battle Maidens resurrecting the fallen in Eastern Plague Lands while they were in the Lich King's thrall, and they could have been brought back by them personally if they fell in the field. A Death Knight that vividly remembers the touch of a Val'kyr could have some very interesting dialogue with a freshly risen these days.

How Sylvanas recruited the Val'kyr remains a mystery, but she tells Garrosh that they and other intelligent Scourge were 'unemployed' after the fall of the Lich King. It's worth noting that the Val'kyr under Sylvanas are only able to resurrect dead Humans, whereas the Lich King could have reanimated a dry turkey sandwich and have it killing Scarlets within the first hour of it's dark resurrection.

I've had a few roleplayers approach me with questions because they considered roleplaying a non-Forsaken member of the Horde that was risen by the Val'kyr - but from what we know so far a Forsaken that is not a reanimated human is not a concept that holds water (and, honestly, if you want to explore a Horde character that's died and been risen again, a Death Knight is the best option). Even if you disregarded that the Forsaken Val'kyr can only raise Humans, I'm pretty sure Garrosh, or the respective faction leader of whatever race you wanted to play, would have a very strong reaction to Sylvanas raising members of their race willy-nilly like some kind of Lich Queen. Keep in mind, the Forsaken are on a tight leash right now.

While we may not know how Sylvanas convinced the Val'kyr to serve her, we do know for sure that the Val'kyr are deeply loyal. There's a very interesting quest for the Horde in the Western Plaguelands where your character can take control of one and raise dead farmers as Forsaken. The quest giver tells you in the next quest that "A Val'kyr's only purpose is to serve", and the Silverpine quests reveal that they are obligated to honour any deals or pacts they enter, at any cost. Keep in mind that your character may not know this about them, and be wary of the Val'kyr or anyone raised by them.

So, now that we know a little more about the Val'kyr, how do they come into our roleplay, and how can our characters react to them? Find out in my next entry, the Val'kyr and you.